The Nets snapped a four-game losing streak with Monday's 116-109 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Here are the takeaways...
- With Ben Simmons out due to left knee soreness, Joe Harris slid into the starting lineup alongside Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Royce O’Neale, and Nic Claxton.
-When these two teams faced off on Saturday night, the Nets could not buy a stop, especially at the three-point line, as the Pacers shot a ridiculous 50 percent (23-of-46) from downtown in the 125-116 win.
This time out, the Nets came out firing, with Harris and Durant hitting a couple early threes to give Brooklyn a quick 12-4 lead, prompting a Pacers timeout. Durant was locked in early, hitting three of his first five shots and finishing with 13 points in the quarter. In the process, Durant passed Vince Carter for 19th place on the all-time NBA scoring list.
The Pacers were 0-for-12 from beyond the arc as the Nets led 33-18 after one.
- Irving took over in the early minutes of the second quarter, with the guard scoring 11 of the Nets' first 15 points. On the other end, not only did Indiana continue to struggle from downtown, but they also played sloppy basketball, turning the ball over often as the Nets pushed their lead over 20 points.
A trio of Chris Duarte threes cut into the Brooklyn lead as the Pacers stormed back with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to just seven points at the half. Durant and Irving each had 15 first-half points, while Claxton added 12.
- The Nets came out of halftime with a quick barrage of threes from Durant, Irving, and O'Neale to push the lead back to 15 points. The superstar duo of Durant and Irving continued to lead the charge for Brooklyn, but a late Duarte three again had the lead back at seven heading into the the final quarter.
To this point, Durant's point total was up to 28, while Irving was not far behind with 24. But Duarte's 28 points had Indiana back in the game.
- The start of the fourth quarter belonged to the Pacers, as a 7-0 run got them back within two points at 96-94 with 9:20 to go.
There was some sloppy play from both teams that continued in the fourth, and while the Pacers kept things close, the Nets maintained a seven-point lead into the final four minutes. A Buddy Hield three cut the lead back to four with 3:20 to go, but the Nets were able to gut out a 116-109 win thanks to finally getting some defensive stops down the stretch.
- Durant had a game-high 36 points, while Irving added 28 and Claxton went for 19 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. Duarte had 30 in a losing effort for Indiana.